Display apparatus



May 26; i925.

Lf R. MCDONALD DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed April- 1, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet lwww JN May 26, 1925.

1,539,6834 L. R. MGDONALD DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed April J. 1924 6Sheets-Sheet 2 wuemtoz, f

May 26, 1925.

L. R. MCDONALD DI SPLAY APPARATUS Filed April l, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet May26, 1925.

L. R. MCDONALD DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed April L 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 4@nvm/WOZ,

DI SPLAY APPARATUS Filed April J, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 f 'Il y W W I 1M3mm/"to2,

5513, Evi/J @Hoff/nua 'Hay 2B. 19251 1,539,683

L. R. MCDONALD DISPLAY APPARATUSl Filed April J, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 6Egg-6 05 ik 'I ried by shafts 53 and 54 disposed in suit- 4creased andthe worm groove continued around the eccentric 59; and the shaft 54carries a similar worm 56, which is provided with a similar taper 58 andasimilar eccentric 60, the pitch of the thread, however, on the worm andeccentric `being reversed from that of the thread on the worm 55. Theends `of the shafts 53 and 54 are provided with annular flanges 61, 62having bevels 63, 64 adjacent to the grooves of their respective wormsand 56. Beyond these flanges shafts and 54 are carried through suitablebearings 65, 66 and are provided respect-ively with cams 67, 68,aga-inst which bear ends 69 and 70 of a cross bar 71, attached to aflange 72 of the spring plate 73 secured at the botto-m of the apparatusand having its upper, free end providedwith fingers 75, 76 normally7projecting through apertures in an inclined card guide 7 7, but adaptedto be withdrawn by` springing backl of the plate 73 under the influenceof the cams 67, 68.l

yIn the ends ofthe apparatus are placed card yguides 79, 80, adapted toengage the ends of the card and direct them in their descent into viewposition.

Between the worms 55 and 56 placed `a y card detent 83, which has anexpanded and y rearwardly tapered head 84 disposed in a plane slightlyabove the worms 55 and 56, its rear end terminating just in advance ofthe axialline of the faces of the eccentrics 59 and 60. l y

Placards 90-90 of cardboard, or similar flexible material, are providedat their tops and bottoms with dovetailed notches 91,

Y adapted to straddle and slide along the detent 83, but not to bereleased therefrom until they reach its inner end, thus holding down thecards as they approach the rear of the apparatus, until the last one isin position to be raised and carried forward again. The upper portion ofthe last card rests upon a suitable support, such as a roller 95`journalled in the ends of the apparatus and disposed in line with thetop of the eccentries 59 and 60 and the adjoining faces of therollers'15 and 20; and owing to the fact that the support 95 andthen'ieeting faces of the rollers 15 and 20 are set back of the plane ofthe eccentrics 59 and 60 and the fact that the bottoms of the cards areseparated one from another by the worms 55 and 56, the cards willnormallv tend to slant backward so that the Vpack will normally bearagainst the roller or support 95.l

VIn the drawings the thickness of the cards and the width of the wormthread have been increased, for clearness, substantially abovetherproportions permissible for use in actual practice; with the resultthat the number of cards shown in the illustration is considerably lessthan what may be used in a full sized operating machine.Vv

In practice it has been found that shafts Y of three quarters or seveneighths (7/8) of an inc-h diameter and thread of sixteen (16) turns tothe inch may be used,'it being preferable, however, to gradually aboutdouble the pitch of the thread over thelast few turns before it mergeswiththe cam, as this will permit a better separation of the lower edgesof the cards and give a better control over the cards by the mechanismwhich controls their successive elevation.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I have illust-rated a modification of the cardforwarding mechanism, a single large `roller 100 being substituted forthe five small rollers 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36, and another roller 101being substituted for the two rollers 30 and 31; and instead of thebelts 40, 41 and 42 I employ in the. modification an endless cord 102,which is carried around the rollers 15, 100, 16, 101 and across theapparatus over guide pulleys 103 and 104, one or both of the rollers 15and 16 being preferably provided with grooves 105 to assist in guidingthe cord as it travels around the rollers; y

This modified form of apparatus will efficiently handle the cards; butit requires a higher casing than the form which I first described, andis, therefore, not as economical of space as the other form. If themodified form of apparatus is used the worm gear 7 may be mounteddirectly on the shaft 105 of the roller 100, and the driving mechanismfor the rollers 15 and 16 may be omitted as the traction of the roller100 will be suicient to operate all the rollers in the system coveredVby the cord 102. y y

The operation of my apparatus is as follows.

The apparatus having been furnished, preferably with a full set ofcards, the niotor is started and the following cycle` of operation takesplace. The card at the back of the apparatus and which is restingagainst the support 95, is raised by the worm groove in the rotatingeccentrics 59 and 60, sliding up above the next card until itsupper edgeis gripped between the belts 40, 41, 42 and the roller 20, which thendraw the card upward and feed it forward between the'belts and therollers 33, 34, 35, 36 and 24, and discharge it downward behind the openfront of the case. As the card descends its lower edge strikes theguides 79'and 80 and is directed inwardly and downwardly to the inclinedface of the guide 77, along which it. slides until arrested by thefingers and 76 prothe pack ot cards has been moved backward on theWorms, and the bottoms of the last :teny cards being separated moreWidely by the increased pitch of the Worm groove, the last ard slippingo'tl the end of the card deteut 83 and being free toy be raised in itsturn by the cccentrics 59 and 60.

'.llhis inorcn'ient of the cards makes room for the lard which has justbeen transferred from the rear tothe front of the apparatus and is beingheld up on the tingers and 76.

The rotation of the cams 67 and 68 presses down the cross bar 7l andsorings forward the plate 73, withdrawing the finf'ers and TG frombeneath the card, which hen slides down upon the bevelled faces 'j theflanges 6l and 62 and seats itself in :he worm grooves to be carried tothe back of the machine in its turn.

'lhe receiving of the card, when it has dropped from above, by the guide77 and the lingers 75 and 76 has the effect of being arrested graduallyso that it does not fall vith its full Weight and directly upon Worms,but is let dovvn to them gently, o not to bruise or injure the card, andat the proper time to take up its backward travel under the influence ofthe Worm groove.

It will be .noted that this operation rererscs the card each time thatit is trans- Afer-fred from rear to front, thereby exhibiting both ofits sides for advertising purposes and practically doubling the publish-.ing capacity of the apparatus.

l1 urthermore, the direction in which the card will be bent in beingtransferred'from rear to front will be reversed with each transl' rence;thereby avoiding the giving of a. permanent set or bend to the cards,which might interfere With their normal positioning in the apparatus.

l desire it to be understood that the embodiments of my invention whichI have shorrn and explained are to be considered as illustrative and notas exclusive types; for obviously details of construction may bemodified, as by the use of mechanical equivalents, Without departingfrom the spirit of my invention as described and claimed.

Ial'avirg` thus described my invention, what l claim and desire tosecure by Letters Alatent of the lvnitcd States, is

1. ln a display apparatus, the conibination ot a plurality otindependent, flexible placards, with supportingand shifting meansembodying a pair of worms each having an enlarged end and placardtransferring` means.

2. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shifting meansembodying a pair of Worms embodyinfnT a worin having a helical andeccentrically disposed terminal thread and placard transferring means.

3. In a display apparatus, the combina.- tion of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shiftingl meansembodying a `pair of' worms of opposed pitches each worm having ahelical, eccentric tern'iinal, and placard transferring means. n

4. In a display apparatus, the combination of plurality of independent,flexible placards, .vith supporting and shifting means, placarddetaining means adapted. to engage with the lower portions of theplacards, means for initiating the separation of the placardssuccessively, and placard transferring and reversing means.

5. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shifting' means,means for engaging with and hold'-` l i but not the last placard, meansfor initiating the separation 'of the placards successively, and placardltransferring andl reversing` means.

7. In a display apparatus, the conibination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards each provided with .a marginal recess,with supporting and shifting means, placard detain'ing means, adapt-edto engage within said marginal recess to hold down a placard, means forinitiating the separation of the pla-cards successively, and placardtransferring and reversing means.

8. In a display apparatus, the con'ibination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards each provided with a dovetailed marginalrecess, with supporting and shifting means, placard detaining means,adapted to engage Within said marginal recess to hold down a placard,means for initiating the separation of the placards successively, andplacard transferring and reversing means.

9. In a display apparatus, the combination. of a plurality otlindependent, `flexible placards each provided with a dovctailedmarginal recess in each of two opposite edges, with siupporting andshifting means, placard detaining,- means adapted to engage Within thedovetailed marginal recesses to hold down the placards, means forinitiating the separation of the placards successively, and placardtransferring and reversing means.

10. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexiblel ,ing rollers.

11. In a display apparatus, the combination -of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with screw threaded supportingv andshifting means and placard transferring Vmeans embodying a` plurality ofrollers and a cooperating flexible element.

l2. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with screw threaded supporting andshifting means and placard transferring i means embodying a plurality ofrollers and a plurality of cooperating flexible elements.

13. In a display apparatus, the combina tion of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with screw threaded supportingr andshifting means and placard transferring means embodying a pluralityrofcooperating Y rollers, and a plurality of belts cooperating therewith.

14. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with screw threaded supporting andshifting means and placard transferring means embodying a plurality ofcooperating rollers disposed in a plurality of'horizontally parallelplanes.

15. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexiblel placards, with screw threaded supporting andshifting means and placard curving and transferring means.Y

16. In a display apparatus, the combination ofY a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with screw threaded supporting andshifting means and means for'transferring the placard edgewise in acurved course.

17. In a display apparat-us, the combina tion of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with screw threaded supporting andshifting means, placard transferring means and deflecting means.

1S. In a display apparatus, thel combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shifting means,means for raising, transferringr from rear to front and lowering theplacards successively and means for preliminarily arresting cach placardwhen lowered.

19. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality of`independent, flexible placards, with supporting andA shifting rear tofront and lowerin means, means for raising, transferring from rear tofront and lowering the placards succesaively and means, embodying aretractable support, for preliminarilyv arresting each placa-rd whenlowered. i

20. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supportingV and shifting means,means for raising, transferring from rear to front and lowering theplacards successively, and means, embodying a resilient, retractablesupport, for preliminarily arresting each placard when lowered.

2l. In a display apparatus,the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shifting means,means for raising, transferring from rear to front and lowering theplacards successively and means, embodying an inclined guide and aretractable support, for preliminarily arresting each placard whenlowered.

22. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shifting means,means for raising, transferring from the lacards successively and anincline gui e Vand a retractable support projecting therethrough forpreliminarily arresting each placard when lowered.

23. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality o-findependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shifting means,means for raising, transferring from rear 'to front, reversing andlowering the placards successively and means for preliminarily arrestingeach placard when lowered.

24.. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, with supporting and shifting means,means for raising, transferring from rear to front and lowering theplacards successively and means, embodying a retractable support, meansembodying cams for retracting such support, for preliminarily arrestingeach placard when lowered.

25. In a display apparatus, the combination of a plurality ofindependent, flexible placards, withworms constituting supporting andshifting means, eccentric separating means, raising, transferring,reversing and lowering means, arresting means, and automatic means forreleasing the arresting means. y

LESLIE a. neDoNaLn.`

